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| Rio Grande City Border Patrol agents seized close to 700 pounds of marijuana near Escobares, Texas. |
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Edinburg, Texas ─ More than $5.2 million worth of marijuana was seized over the past weekend by U.S. Border Patrol agents from the Rio Grande Valley Sector.
One of the largest seizures, which netted nearly $750,000 worth of marijuana, occurred Friday when agents saw several people loading bundles into a pickup truck near the Rio Grande south of Guadalupe Flores Road. Agents attempted to intercept the vehicle as it was traveling north from the river, but the driver pulled into the driveway of an abandoned house and fled. Inside the vehicle agents found more than 930 pounds of marijuana.
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| RGV BORTAC agents seized more than 930 pounds of marijuana from this pickup truck near the Rio Grande. |
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A second large seizure was made Saturday near Escobares, Texas, when agents assigned to the Rio Grande City Station saw a group of people loading bundles into a Chevrolet Tahoe. When approached by agents, the smugglers fled into the thick brush and the driver of the Tahoe sped off to the north. With the assistance of a helicopter from the Office of Air and Marine, agents located the vehicle parked behind an abandoned house.
Inside the Tahoe, agents found nearly 700 pounds of marijuana, with an estimated value of more than $540,000.
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| Rio Grande City Border Patrol agents seized nearly 350 pounds of marijuana near Escobares, Texas. |
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Several additional seizures from Friday through Sunday brought the total amount of marijuana seized to more than 6,600 pounds. The marijuana was turned over to the appropriate agencies for further investigation.
